Turkey Mascots

Thanksgiving is next week!  I have already bought a big aluminum platter and some oven bags for the great feast and my hunger is growing sharp….  In the mean time though, I continue to salute the majestic turkey bird–the glorious figure the whole holiday focuses around (albeit in an uncomfortably primitive sacrificed-and-devoured kind of way).

Today’s ambiguously conceived tribute takes the form of a gallery of turkey mascots and logos.  It seems quite a lot of them are “Turkey Trot” promotions (apparently that’s some sort of Thanksgiving Day ceremonial run), processed food advertisements, whiskey labels, or creepy sports mascots.  In this last category, pride of place certainly belongs to the HokieBird, the fighting turkey mascot of Virginia Tech, my sister’s alma mater.  Here he is, first in a formal logo, then below that in a portrait, and finally in a candid shot, horsing around on the sidelines:

I’m never sure how to feel about Virginia Tech (sad, angry, confused, affectionate?) but I love the mascot and I salute their bold choice!  Here are some other Turkey Mascots that didn’t necessarily work out as well and then some anonymous turkey costumes.

The Terrifying Mascot for Turkey Hill Dairy

?

The following are food labels/brands.  I really like the first one—a turkey trying desperately to sell tofu substitute:

I know I mentioned wild turkey before but I had to include it again because of the dazzling realism.

Here are some random Turkey images–cartoons, and logos from all sorts of different sources (especially “turkey trot” races around the country):

Wrong, wrong, wrong! --ed.

Argh! Also wrong! --ed.

Sigh...

A timeless classic of the season....

I’m closing this grabbag of images with a picture of the national bird of the United States getting angry and jockeying for pride of place with the turkey.  Next week I’ll finish listing the different strains of domestic turkey and write some closing thoughts about this national obsession.

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